A nanowire is a relatively thin wire, for example, with a diameter or width measured in nanometers (nm). Nanowires can have diameters or widths such as, for example, about 4 nm to 10 nm.
Nanowires can be a viable device option instead of fin field-effect transistors (FinFETs). For example, a nanowire can be used as the fin structure in a dual-gate, tri-gate or gate-all-around (GAA) FET device. Nanowires can have a smaller perimeter than fins, but also larger external resistance due to an under-spacer component.
Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) scaling can be enabled by the use of stacked nanowires, which offer superior electrostatics and higher current density per footprint area than FinFETs.
Techniques for manufacturing nanowire devices can include suspension and deposition. A challenge with nanowires is how to improve nanowire device performance, particularly for p-type FETs (PFETs). Known techniques for manufacturing nanowire devices do not maintain strain in nanowires. Loss in strain causes mobility degradation, resulting in lower performance.